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Family of slain 'Halloween' producer sues

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CHICAGO -- The family of the producer of the original "Halloween" film, who died of wounds suffered in the terrorist bombing of a Jordan hotel, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against hotel chain Global Hyatt Corp.

The attacks on Nov. 9, 2005, which came to be known as "Jordan's 9/11," killed at least 60 people, including Syrian-born Moustapha Akkad, 75, his 34-year-old daughter and the three suicide bombers. Al-Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility.

Chicago-based Hyatt and its subsidiary Hyatt International Corp. failed to provide adequate security or metal detectors and allowed unauthorized people with explosives easy access to the inside of the hotel, according to the lawsuit, filed Monday in Cook County Circuit Court.

"A hotel has a high legal duty to its registered guests to protect them from the foreseeable criminal acts of terrorists," attorney Browne Greene said in a statement. "Hyatt should clearly have had heightened security, rather than the loose security that was in place."

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and court costs.

A Hyatt spokeswoman did not return telephone messages left after business hours Monday night.

The bombers detonated their weapons almost simultaneously at three Amman hotels, including the Grand Hyatt Amman, where Akkad had been staying, the lawsuit said.

Akkad's three decades of work in Hollywood ranged from the "Halloween" slasher films to more serious movies with Muslim themes.